Just A Little Longer
by Sinnclaire
Summary: Somehow, she was happy that he's moved on. But another part of her wants to believe that he's still waiting for her return. Hope/Lightning


**TITLE: **Just A Little Longer.

**CHARACTERS/PAIRINGS: **Hope, Lightning, Serah and Alyssa | Hope x Lightning.

**SUMMARY:** Somehow, she was happy that he's moved on. But another part of her wants to believe that he's still hoping for her return.

Hope sat at the bottom of the bunk bed in one of the airships saved from Cocoon. His eyes, completely void of emotion, were fixed on the ground, and he stood still on the soft matress. So much had happened that day. They woke from their crystal sleep, brands gone and bodies in one piece. Cocoon was saved, for Fang and Vanille had prevented the planet from crashing into the Pulsian Earth. Dajh and Serah were reunited with Snow, Lightning and Sazh; and he just learned from a Cavalry soldier that his father was alive and that he would get to see him tomorrow morning. Miracles do happen, this was live proof. Noise could be heard from the other side of his door- celebration, as it seemed. But instead of joining in the 'I survived the fall of Cocoon' festivities, here he was, moping and thinking about what could be. Here he was thinking about what it would be like if she never left. Here he was, doing nothing.

Shouldn't he be jumping for joy? Shouldn't Hope be happy- Happy that he was alive, that he saved Cocoon, somehow? Shouldn't he be partying with everyone? Shouldn't he be smiling right now?

He should.

But instead he sat motionless in his room- in his own solitary world, by himself.

"Why?" He said angrily as he moved backwards to lean onto the wall adjacent to the bed. Hope gritted his teeth and clutched the bed covers tightly, looking as if he was about to rip them off, and scoffed. He didn't know what he was supposed to feel at the moment. Was he supposed to be angry? Was he supposed to be depressed? Sad? No. He shouldn't be. What if she was watching him right now? What would she say to him? He was stronger than this. Well what then? What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to feel?

Of course, happy was completely out of the question.

"She was right there..." He said darkly. "She was standing right next to me...She even put her arm on my shoulder before she hugged Serah!" He punched the bed as he said this, his words coming out almost like a growl. "She even said 'congrats'! She-"

_*Knock Knock Knock* _

"Hope?" A gentle female voice came from the other side of the wall. Hope's head snapped in the direction of the door, where the voice came from. He stared at it intensely, making it look like lasers would shoot from his eyes at any moment and melt the metal entrance.

"Hope?" The voice repeated, and a hand was heard tapping on the door a few more times. Hope gave no reply. "Ho-"

"What?" Hope screamed rudely at the door. The silver-haired boy had his eyes fixed on ther door. It took him a few seconds to realize what he just did. Hope froze in his seat. For a moment there, it didn't sound like he was Hope Estheim. He sounded like he was somebody else- somebody he never imagined he would become like. Surprised at his own action, Hope's eyes widened and he shook his head. He wouldn't let the anger take over him. He couldn't let the anger take over him. Sure, he wasn't the kind of person who could express his feelings well, but saying that made it look like he didn't learn anything about emotional control from Lightning at all.

Lightning.

"No," he shook his head. He didn't need her in his mind right now. He looked around the room, searching for anything that would chase her out of his head even for just a moment. His eyes, once again, travelled to the metal door across the room and the red button that was mounted on the wall beside it. Then he remembered.

"Crap," he whispered to himself and got on his feet. He had to apologize for screaming at whoever was at the door two minutes ago. So, he walked towards it's direction slowly, and then pushed the red button. The button turned green as the the door slowly slid open, revealing the carpeted hallways of the Sactum airship he was currently on. From where he stood, he caught sight of a lady with pink hair walking away from his door- the last one at the end of the hall- and ran towards her whilst calling out, "Serah!"

The pink-haired lady turned around as Hope came to a stop in front of her. His green orbs met with her own blue, and they looked at each other for a minute, until Hope finally decided to speak.

"Serah, I-" He said, his voice tinted with nervousness and embarrassment. Hope looked down and broke the eye contact. He then began playing with his fingers. "I- I'm sorry I said that...I- I didn't m- mean to-"

"It's okay, Hope," Serah replied, wrapping her arms around Hope's body and burying her head in his shoulder, leaving him lost for words and unable to move. Hope stood there with his hands at his sides. He did not say anything, nor did he return Serah's friendly hug. Hope took a minute before speaking again, nothing but 'sorry' coming out from his mouth. Serah didn't let go of the boy; and even though they just met hours ago, somehow it wasn't difficult for the young Farron to comfort him. It was like there was already a bond formed between them. She knew it would be strange for both of them, though the pink-haired lady didn't mind.

"It's okay," Serah repeated for the last time. "Stop apologizing, Hope. it's not your fault."

Hope shut his mouth the moment she told him to stop, and Serah finally let him go. He still refused to move from where he stood in the middle of the carpeted hall, so Serah tried to get him to go to dinner with her.

"Hope, come with me," she tried her best to say it in a cheerful voice, a huge smile plastered all over her face.

"Everyone is waiting for us at the dinner table," she grabbed the silver-haired boy by the wrist and tugged on his hand. Serah led the way and Hope followed, taking slow steps behind her. "Sazh, Dajh, Snow, and your dad are waiting!"

_'Dad?' _

Hope's face lit up and a temporary feeling of happiness melted the cold in his bitter heart. He stopped and looked up at Serah with a small smile on his face.

"Really?" he asked her. Serah smiled when he talked, relieved that he had snapped out of the depression spell he was in a while ago.

She nodded to him, saying, "I know you were told that you were supposed to have your reunion tomorrow, but they found a way to push it back a few hours." Serah went ahead a bit, assuming Hope was trailing behind her, then she looked back and stopped.

"Hope, what are you doing? Let's go!" She encouraged. Soon after, she heard his footsteps coming from behind her. She smiled, and continued to walk down the halls. She looked behind her to check if the fourteen-year-old teen was really following. Her eyes lit up as she saw him walking behind her with a spark in his eyes. She continued to walk, glancing at the boy behind her every now and then. But suddenly, the feeling of nostalgia took over her body and soul, and she remembered.

Hope was just like her.

Back when their mother passed away, Serah remembered how she would refuse to talk, how she would refuse to eat. When she was in school, her teacher would always try to talk to her and help her; but she never cooperated with them.

Even so, at the end of the day, there was always one thing that was able to bring a smile to her face.

Her sister.

When it was 4:00PM, they would ring the bell, signaling the end of the day's classes. Serah would walk alone to the front gates of her school, and when someone passed her by and told her that Claire was waiting for her, she would go from a walking speed to a running speed. She had the same spark in her eyes- the spark she saw in Hope's eyes when she told him his father awaited him. Her sister was the only one who could make her happy. She was the only one who could get Serah to talk. She stood by Serah's side until she was strong enough on her own, until she was able to forget.

Serah brushed her tears away with her fingers, she couldn't let him see her like this. It was her turn to be a sister to Hope. It was her turn to stand by his side until he was ready to move on and forget. It was her turn to comfort Hope like Lightning did to her. They'll both have to be strong, until that time- just until she returns.

_'I'm sorry, Serah.' _

Serah gasps. She stops in her tracks to gaze up at the ceiling; though she didn't see anything but the flickering white lights, she was sure she heard Lightning's voice, she was positive that the voice belonged to her sister.

"It's okay, Claire...It's okay."

Months after Lightning's disappearance and the fall of Cocoon, the people had already began scouting for areas that could possibly become their new home. Oerba seemed to be the most probable, and so that is where they started. It was the beginning of a brand new story for all of them. Everyone played their part- the capable adults helped the military chase the Cie'th out while others repaired the city, children brought smiles to their parents' faces; and the ex-l'cie? Well let's say they're doing pretty good with their jobs. Serah and Lebreau, along with some other women, make the food for the workers. Some members of the NORA gang help and supervise the construction of a residential area in the North where they were expanding Oerba to. The others were part of the team that collects parts in the Mah'habara Subterra along with a few other volunteers. All was going well, and the people stood together in the hopes of creating a new home on the place they knew as hell.

The crystal pillar in the distance was what served as inspiration to the people in their everyday lives. Cocoon, once a utopia in the sky, was nothing but a distant memory now. And this memory was what fueled the hearts of the people. It was the symbol of their strength- their motivation to keep going and not only rebuild Pulse, but to create an ever better world than the one they used to live in. It was not easy, but as long as they don't give up and work hard, all their dreams would come true.

It's been a year and ten months since.

"Is Sazh here already?" Hope called out to the ex-corps soldier behind him as he placed some parts, which he collected from a Boxed Phalanx not long ago, into boxes.

"Sir! I'll go check if-"

"It's okay. I'll do it. Just help me with these," Hope stood up, carrying one of the boxes in his arms which have become a bit muscular from all the day-to-day work he did. He nodded, motioning for the soldier to pick up the other one and follow him.

Hope, despite his youth, was made leader of the team that collected parts in the Mah'habara. With the manadrives provided by the Sanctum, he taught the team how to properly use magic and educated them on the weaknesses of the monsters in the underground caves. He also showed them the proper way of detaching the parts of the robots- just like he would when they needed weapon upgrades back when he was a L'Cie. All of these kept him busy and the job was a very tiring one, but he was glad to help. Not only did it keep his mind away from thoughts of the past, but it also made him more experienced in the ways of the world. He knew there was a lot about Pulse that was yet to be uncovered.

He and the soldier walked towards their ride- a tamed pack of Gorgonopsids tied to a metal cart big enough to fit people. On the front of the cart, eight pieces of metal squares with different colors were attached. Hope gets in the back and stacks the boxes in front of him, thanking the soldier before tapping lightly on the first piece of metal. The pack of beasts, hearing this sound, begin to run. Hope directs the beasts by tapping on the metal squares. He taps the fourth square to go left, and the third to go right. A few months ago, Hope discovered that these animals reacted to different types of sound and cooperated with some peopld who were animal trainers back then on Cocoon to train the Gorgonopsids. This was simple and truly an effective-although probably temporary- means of transportation for the people aside from waystones and Dreadnoughts.

Hope taps on the seventh piece of metal, signaling the Gorgonopsids to slow down as he catches sight of the way out of the tunnels and a sign saying he was near the Maw of the Abyss. He taps on the last piece, this time signaling them stop and the joyride comes to a halt. Hope gets of first and ties the beasts on to a railing along with all the other Gorgonopsids, later returning with a metal cart where he puts the boxes in. He pushes the cart towards the entrance to the Maw of the Abyss, and suddenly he feels someone tap on his shoulder.

"E- excuse me..." someone says, making Hope stop in his tracks and look back. A girl, who looked like she was the same age as Hope, stood in front of him. She had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and she looked up to him shyly as she said, "Can I come with you?"

Hope stopped to stare at her for a moment. What was a girl doing in the Mah'habara Subterra? The women were supposed to be back at Oerba, helping with the preparation of the food and caring for the children. Why was she here?

"Are you lost?" He asked the girl and she shook her head. "Oh," he replied and continued walking, motioning for the blonde lady to follow him.

"To tell you the truth, I've wanted to come here for a long time. I'm...looking for someone," she stated.

"Who?" The silver-haired teen asked out of curiosity.

"The leader of the foragers here. They told me he was the one who discovered the new transpo thingy...I- I just wanted to see him," Hope froze. He knew the girl was talking about him. "You see, on Cocoon, it was my dream to become an inventor...even though the Fal'Cie practically gave us everything. I heard he was the same age as me too, but I can't find him so I'm just going to head back."

She stopped, and he did too. "I'm Alyssa, by the way. Alyssa Zaidelle."

"I'm Hope," he replied, and Alyssa's eyes widened. "Hope Estheim."

It was ever since that day, she noticed, she felt him start to forget her. Lightning noticed, watching from the shrine of Etro in another time. She gazed upon the magic crystal that stood before her, the image of an older and more mature Hope Estheim showing. He was 22 now and he was at the top. He finished his studies and was now the leader of a group called the "Academy," and he ran the city of Academia. He didn't communicate much with his friends, which worried Lightning greatly; though he tried to find time for leisure, somehow. She was happy for him. She was happy that he succeeded, that he was living his life normally despite all the trials he faced. Losing his mom at the age of 14, being branded a L'Cie; losing Fang and Vanille...and Lightning. It wasn't easy.

It's never been easy.

But he remained strong.

Lightning smiled. "You've grown a lot now, Hope. And it seems that...you're doing great...with-" She stopped at the image of a blonde girl entering the room and sitting beside Hope._ 'It's lunch time!' _she said, dragging the man off with her to the elevator. And she swore, the pink-haired lady swore she saw him smile.

Lightning looked down. She should've been the one calling him to lunch. They should be eating together. She should've been the one supporting him through all this.

_'Enough,' _she thought.

'He's doing great without me. They all are...' She closed her eyes before getting up on her feet- 'without me...' - and leaving the room.

She missed them- Serah, Hope, Sazh, Fang and Vanille...even NORA and Snow.

But it's been so long, and she doubted they felt the same towards her.

Still, a little part of her told her that they were hoping, no matter how much her heart told her she was forgotten.

And really, they were waiting for her.

He was waiting for her, and he will continue to wait.

He will continue to wait for the day of her return. He'll hold on to the pain, just until that that time.

_'Just a little longer, Hope. Just a little longer.'_


End file.
